<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>The Red Shogun by orphan_account</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23100238">The Red Shogun</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Lego Ninjago</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Consensual Violence, I am mean to kai for no reason, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Post Season 3, Pre Season 4, Suicide Attempt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 13:22:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>304</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23100238</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kai doesn't have any healthy coping mechanisms</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>48</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Red Shogun</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Fight fire with fire. Hurt with hurt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He doesn't know why he goes back to the ring, but he does. Again and again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe he thinks if he gets hit enough times he'll forget. Deep down, he knows full well that's not how it works. He still comes back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sometimes he lets himself get hit, until his head feels like it's full of cotton, and words come slower than they should. Until he feels his bones creaking, muscles tearing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But it doesn't hurt. </span>
  <b>
    <em>Not as much as-</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>no don't think about it don't don't don't think about it it hurts too much just forget about him-</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And after every fight, he drags himself to the bar, gets a drink to numb it all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He feels dirty.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>What would Zane think-</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>no no no he's gone stop thinking about it just stop thinking keep fighting don't think about it-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He feels wrong.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He can't face his sister. Not like this. Bruises all over, scars from fighting the wrong battles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She would be ashamed of him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>She should be.</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And every night he walks back to his trashy little apartment, meager prize money in hand, and passes out on the bare mattress on the floor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Same thing, over and over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fight, drink, sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Again and again.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>And</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>Still</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>It</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>Hurts</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A dull ache, pulsing in his ribcage like a second heartbeat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pounding in his head like a hammer to his skull.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>Can't take it anymore. Can't. No more.</em>
  </b>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>It has to end.</em>
  </b>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>He's staring at the pill bottle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He's pouring out the contents into his hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He's bringing the handful of poison up to his lips.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>What about Lloyd?</em>
  </b>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>He stops.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pills go back in the bottle. The bottle goes back on the shelf.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>No. Not this time.</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He gets dressed.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Back to the ring.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>